Hendrick launches new Palliative Care program

Hendrick Medical Center recently announced the opening of Pathways at Hendrick: Supportive and Palliative Medicine Program. The new physician led palliative care program is the first of its kind in the Big Country, and offers physical, emotional and spiritual support for improved quality of life to patients and their families facing serious or chronic illnesses.

A multi-disciplinary team made up of doctors, nurses, social workers, chaplains and other specialists work with a patient's primary physician to provide an added layer of support.

“We are very pleased to offer such a comprehensive program to our patients,” said Dr. Victor Hirsch, medical director for Pathways. “Palliative care is appropriate at any age and at any stage in a serious illness. It can be provided together with curative and disease-directed treatments.”

Patient- and family-centered palliative care optimizes quality of life by anticipating, preventing and treating suffering. Palliative care is not limited to the terminally ill or dying. Anyone with a serious, life-limiting or chronic illness can benefit from palliative care, which can extend from a few hours to several years.

“Many people confuse palliative care with hospice care,” said Hirsch, former medical director for Hendrick Cancer Center. “Palliative care is different from hospice in that palliative care is given at the same time as life-sustaining or curative treatments; whereas hospice is only for patients who have chosen to forego life-sustaining treatments. Palliative care is for patients who are at any point in their illness trajectory, while hospice is for patients who have six months or less to live if the disease runs its usual course.”

A physician can refer a patient for palliative care services, preferably at an early stage of treatment. Once a referral is made, a team member will visit the patient to discuss the options for care. Hendrick’s interdisciplinary team will work closely with the patient, their family members and the primary doctor to determine how to best address the patient’s needs for symptom management and support.

Palliative care may be helpful for those patients suffering with pain and symptoms associated with serious illness, difficult medical decisions or nutritional problems caused by progressive illness problems related to emotional and spiritual suffering.